Dance to the Rhythm of Love
by Merri
Summary: YAOI RuHana. Sakuragi works as an errand boy in a dance company. His dream is to become a professional dancer, will he be able to carve himself a career as a pro?
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer****: **Unfortunately, I do not own SLAM DUNK. These wonderful boys belong to the great Takehiko Inoue.

**Author's Notes**: Everything in this piece of work is fictional, including the schools and festivals. I have no dance background therefore some of the dance movements described might not make sense to you if you are really into dance and stuff (though I really do hope that I make some sense because I've never researched so hard for a fic before).

Btw, hello minna-san!!! It's been... *counts* about 5 years since I touched this fic and yes, I'm finally back to updating :D It's not completed yet but will soon be, hopefully by the end of the year. Want to thank everyone of you who have commented, its really great encouragement and its also why I'm back to finish what I've started :))

Hope you like this brand new version of DTTROL, the storyline is about the same, just changed the scenes a bit (a big bit), so it would be best to read everything from the start ^_^UU Sorry... dun kill me T__T

**Pairing**: RuHana (Duh)

**Warning**: Slash/YAOI whatever, PG-13 (just in case)

**Dance to the Rhythm of Love**  
_Written by Merri_

Prologue

Sakuragi Hanamichi was not your typical street ruffian. Not the ones you see loitering around the seedier areas of the Kanagawa prefecture, waiting to create trouble or to accost pretty young women as they walk past. In fact, he was not a street ruffian at all, despite the impression you might get when you see his crop of flaming red hair and the typical Japanese ruffian hairdo. He was a man with a dream. A laughable dream when you try to link it to his fearsome features and the kind of dream that you would never associate with a man like him.

"A what?" Mito Youhei exclaimed, choking a little on his pint.

"A dancer! I want to be a dancer." Sakuragi repeated impatiently, enunciating the word "dancer" with deliberate care while giving Youhei a look that meant that he thought his friend a little deaf to not catch it.

Youhei's eyes widen a little, as he took in the words. "Seriously, Hanamichi. Why the sudden interest?" he asked, looking incredulous at his friend's confession. "I mean," Youhei added slowly after Sakuragi flashed him a look of irritation, "you've never mentioned anything about this before... You don't suddenly wake up one day and proclaim to the world that your dream is become a dancer, am I right?"

Sakuragi shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "I... it was my childhood dream, alright? I just never... thought to mention about it," he said before proceeding to look anywhere but at Youhei, an obvious splotch of pink growing high on his cheeks, "since its nothing important."

"And it's important to mention it now?" asked Youhei, amused.

"Of course!" Sakuragi exclaimed, slamming both his hands palms down on the table, "the future of the Great Sakuragi Hanamichi is now in your hands, Youhei!"

"Wait, stop! Am I missing something here?" asked Youhei as he looked around making silent apologies to the dirty looks their neighbours were giving them. When he turned back to see the cheeky grin plastered on Sakuragi's face, he could only regret his decision to accompany his friend for a drink that night.

"Ne, ne, I heard from Nozomi about your friend's Dance Company," said Sakuragi while nudging Youhei's shoulder in a conspiratorial way. "He told me that they are looking for a male dancer and I think...," he paused to point a finger at himself, "that you've got the perfect candidate sitting right here in front of you."

_Great_, thought Youhei, _I'm so going to kill Nozomi tomorrow when I see him_. "Can you even dance?" he asked instead. "You do know that this is professional dance we're talking about and not some extra curriculum activity for adults, right?"

Youhei's vision shifted into a blur when Sakuragi moved to grab him by the front of his collar and proceed to give him a good shake. "Temee! Are you doubting my talent!?" exclaimed Sakuragi.

"No, no. Of course not. I'll – I'll just talk to my friend about this, alright? I'm sure they'll be ecstatic to have you..." Youhei explained. He is finding the idea of Sakuragi being a dancer a little hard to accept. Of all things, a dancer!

"Eh!? Really?" asked Sakuragi in disbelief. Though why in disbelief, Youhei had no idea, since the man probably knew that Youhei was going to give in to his whims in the end.

"Youhei! You're the best!"

_To be continued…_


	2. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer****: **Unfortunately, I do not own SLAM DUNK. These wonderful boys belong to the great Takehiko Inoue.

**Pairing**: RuHana (Duh)

**Warning**: Slash/YAOI whatever, PG-13 (just in case)

**Dance to the Rhythm of Love**  
_Written by Merri_

Chapter 1

"Youhei! You fucking liar!" Sakuragi cursed under his breath as he dragged the mop in his hand across the parquet flooring.

He had arrived at the Shohoku Dance Company three days after his meeting with Youhei, all excited and nervous at the same time, eager to take this one big step in his life to make his dream come true. It was only when he had greeted the manager, Akagi Takenori, that morning in his office that his hopes had came shattering to the floor.

Akagi chuckled, a deep and resonant sound. "No, Sakuragi. Your job as my assistant will not require you to be anywhere near the dance studio, much less to dance. You don't need to audition for anything."

"As – assistant?" he had asked in disbelief. "I – I thought I was here to audition for the position as a dancer with the company..."

"Dancer?" Akagi laughed, giving Sakuragi a once over. "That position... it was filled. We found the candidate yesterday, a promising young graduate from the Tokyo Dance Academy. Didn't, what was his name, Youhei? Didn't Youhei mention anything about this to you?"

Sakuragi shook his head, still unable to come to terms with what he had just heard.

"So do you still want this job?"

This was how Sakuragi had found himself mopping the office floor, two days later. As nice as the title, Manager's Assistant, might have sounded, he was really just a do-it-all. From simple administrative work to cleaning the dance floors, it was all under his purview and the pay wasn't even fantastic.

"Rukawa, dance with emotions! Emotions! You have that don't you?" The dance choreographer, Ayako, shouted from the other side of the studio's door.

Sakuragi snickered. So this was their promising young dancer? Not so promising after all. That stupid manager, Akagi, should have chosen him instead! Served them right.

He walked over to the door and peeked in through the small glass window. The dancers were practicing hard as usual, preparing for their participation in the annual Japan Modern Dance Festival that was to be held in Tokyo in five months time. And there was the newbie, Rukawa Kaede, gliding across the floor looking both graceful and loathsome at the same time. Well, to Sakuragi anyway.

"Ah! Haruko-chan!" Sakuragi sighed happily and watched as a petite girl with shoulder-length black hair danced into his view. Akagi Haruko, younger sister of the dance company's manager, Akagi Takenori, twenty years of age, single and Sakuragi's current love obsession. Unfortunately, she has a crush on the newbie, Rukawa Kaede, who just had to have everything Sakuragi ever wanted. He couldn't figure out why the girls (yes, every girl in the dance company) were so smitten to that man. That man who moved like a zombie, talked like a zombie, had eyes that were too cold and had hair that was too dark. Rukawa was nothing like the epitome of handsomeness that was himself.

Ayako clapped her hands, signaling the end of the day's practice. The dancers heaved a sigh of relief, slowly heading back towards the sides of the studio to pack their belongings or to take a breather before leaving for the day. Sakuragi whimpered as Haruko shyly offered a cold bottle of water to Rukawa and growled curses under his breath when the man accepted. He was one-step away from charging into the studio to beat his rival-in-love into a pulp when he heard shuffling noises from the office area. The manager was back.

Sakuragi cursed, taking one last lingering glance into the studio before rushing back to his work. As for Rukawa Kaede, he will confront the man another day and give him a piece of his mind.

_To be continued…_


	3. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer****: **Unfortunately, I do not own SLAM DUNK. These wonderful boys belong to the great Takehiko Inoue.

**Pairing**: RuHana (Duh)

**Warning**: Slash/YAOI whatever, PG-13 (just in case)

**Dance to the Rhythm of Love**  
_Written by Merri_

Chapter 2

It was not allowed. He knew of this but since when did the great Sakuragi Hanamichi follow rules? He had a dream to fulfill and if they were not going to give it to him then he'll damn well work for it on his own.

He had just started his secret nightly dance practices a while ago, after finally giving in to the urge of using the dance studio for his own personal use. Akagi would definitely skin him alive for this, but that will only happen if he finds out, which he was never going to. It was this particular thought that had him smiling cheekily as he made his way back to the studio for his "secret training session" right after packing up for the day. He will show them who is the better dancer soon enough!

"Genius! I'm a dancing genius!" Sakuragi sang, out of tune, as he made his way down the corridor. "The prancing, leaping, twirling, dancing genius!"

Despite what he claims, Sakuragi was nothing but a total amateur at dancing, even after counting in the two years of ballet he took when he was eight. All he could do during his supposed "secret training sessions" was just to repeat parts of the dance routine that he had managed to remember from peeping at the dance company's daily practices. In these sessions, he would try as hard as he can to learn as much dance techniques and styles from what he could gather from being a voyeur.

If Sakuragi was anything, he was persistent.

He stopped short, just a meter in front of the studio. Light, albeit dim, was streaming out of the little glass window while music could be heard softly in the background. Curious, he crept quietly to door to peep into window and found a lone figure dancing in the almost darkness. He couldn't see quite clearly enough from dim lighting, only the lights above the mirrored walls were turned on, but what he could see from the shadowy figure was enough to draw him in. Every step twist and jump was executed so beautifully that he couldn't help but feel compelled to watch the whole dance routine to the very end. Even after he had realized that it was Rukawa Kaede, the bane of his life, whom he was watching.

Why he hadn't confronted the man there and then was still a mystery to Sakuragi himself. All he could think about right at that very moment, was if it would be possible for him to one day, go on stage to perform and hear the audiences applaud for him after his dance.

~' * '~

Less than twenty-four hours later, that sense of admiration was gone as fast as it came. Sakuragi cursed quietly as he stood, once again, in front of the wooden door that led to the studio. Rukawa Kaede was in there. It was after practice hours but the man was in there, taking up _his_ usual time slot for nightly "secret training sessions". Frustrated and seemingly not in the trance he was in the previous day, he stormed into the room, ignoring the man's amused look as he stood under the doorway trying to look well… fierce.

Sakuragi cleared his throat. "Oi! Omae!" he shouted, "The studio is closed after practice hours! Time to get your arse out of here!"

Absently dabbing his towel across his forehead, Rukawa merely raised his brows at the interruption. Definitely, not what Sakuragi was expecting. No cowering, no frantic apologies and no empty studio.

"I need to clean the place, I can't do it if you're obstructing the way!" he added hastily after the other man's lack of reaction.

"Not leaving."

"What?!" Sakuragi squeaked, totally not expecting that answer. _That arrogant prick_, he seethed and tried again, "I need to clean the studio, you do not have a choice −"

"You cleaned it this evening," Rukawa interrupted, his expression bordering on smug.

"I − but you're dirtying the floor now!" argued Sakuragi, as he pointed to the spot that Rukawa was currently "dirtying".

"You'll dirty it anyway, even if I didn't," replied Rukawa coolly. Sakuragi felt his jaw drop open right at that moment. Maybe he was being paranoid but Rukawa couldn't be implying what he thought he was implying.

"What do you − what did you mean by that?" he stammered. His fists clenched tightly at his sides as he tried to stop himself from storming over to man to shake an explanation out of him.

"Don't you use the studio every night?" asked Rukawa.

"Temee! How did you know?!" Sakuragi shrieked as he pointed an accusing finger at him, "You were watching me weren't you?! You − you peeping tom!" He looked aghast at Rukawa, wondering how in the world had he not notice that someone had been watching him from the door.

"Weren't _you_ peeping at me as well?" retorted Rukawa. Somehow seeing Sakuragi getting all riled up had made him felt kind of nice.

"No! I was not!" denied a guilty looking Sakuragi, "You think too highly of yourself! And why would I want to watch you when I can easily best you at this?" He gestured around him, looking rather haughty.

"At dance?" asked Rukawa as he turned to toss the towel on his duffel bag.

"Yeah, dance, of course," Sakuragi replied, puffing his chest out a little.

There was a moment of silence as Rukawa controlled the urge to roll his eyes at Sakuragi's childish demeanour. "Let's have a match then."

"A what?" asked Sakuragi, looking a little lost at the sudden turn of tables.

"A match," answered Rukawa as he walked towards the studio's compact hi-fi.

"Are you challenging me?" asked Sakuragi, a little surprised. He watched as the raven-haired man fumbled with the controls, toggling through a couple of radio stations before settling on one.

"Free-style this," said Rukawa a little too blandly, totally ignoring Sakuragi's earlier question. He wasn't exactly in the mood to explain things to a loud-mouth idiot.

"What?" Sakuragi asked for second time that night. Things were getting a little out of hand for him, what with everything moving so fast and pear shaped. Wasn't he supposed to barge in and give this man a piece of his mind?

"Are you an idiot?"

"No! You −"

"Then stop asking questions like one." Rukawa cut in, finally looking a little exasperated.

"Ok! Fine! Let's start then! Free-styling right?" asked Sakuragi as he set his bags aside, "Together?" If the man wanted a challenge, damn right he'll give him a challenge. He'll make sure to beat Rukawa nice and good, he is the genius after all.

Rukawa nodded. "The next song," he said as the current song faded out and ended.

In a matter of minutes, the next song started and both men took to their starting positions. The song started out slow before picking up a little more pace when a soothing female voice started singing.

_Great, it's opera_, thought Sakuragi sarcastically. He really wasn't good with this kind of songs, not when it actually serenades his brain to sleep.

He tried as best as he could to get himself familiar with the rhythm while rummaging through his mind for something that would go well with the current mood of the song. It was he first time free-styling and he didn't know if he could pull it off with only three weeks of practice. Looking towards his right, he could see Rukawa dancing from the reflection in the mirror and the man was, unfortunately for Sakuragi, watching him too.

_To be continued…_


	4. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer****: **Unfortunately, I do not own SLAM DUNK. These wonderful boys belong to the great Takehiko Inoue.

**Pairing**: RuHana (Duh)

**Warning**: Slash/YAOI whatever, PG-13 (just in case)

**Dance to the Rhythm of Love**  
_Written by Merri_

Chapter 3

"How long have you been dancing?" Rukawa asked a short while after the song had ended. He lifted his head to look Sakuragi, who was now sprawled on the wooden floors of the studio. They were both thoroughly worn out and Sakuragi had given no hint of hearing Rukawa's question and it didn't look like he was going to answer as well. Rukawa was about to repeat himself when Sakuragi finally opened his mouth to speak. "Nearly a month," he said as he fingered the ridges in the wooden flooring.

If Rukawa was shocked, he did not show it on his face. "That explains your clumsiness," he said instead, "Wishy-washy at some places and arms flailing everywhere." In truth, he was impressed by Sakuragi's talent. Having just started watching the man when he stumbled on him practicing a week ago, it was hard to believe that it was barely two weeks since he had started dancing before that.

"Oh yeah?" Sakuragi retorted, "You aren't any better yourself!" He straightened up from his position and continued. "Your moves lacked emotions and you looked terribly like a statue when you dance!" And like slap across his face, it suddenly occurred to him that he was having a conversation, though not a friendly one, with this man whom he had considered the bane of his life and his rival-in-love.

Not wishing to spend any more time with the dark-haired man than necessary, he stood up to dust at the imaginary dirt on his track pants. "I − I'm leaving," he said abruptly, grabbing his belongings before leaving the studio in a rush.

Rukawa watched as Sakuragi left in a huff, a little surprised at the abruptness of the whole situation. He couldn't help but find Sakuragi both predictable and unpredictable at the same time.

~' * '~

By the next evening, Sakuragi was once again back at his usual spot by the door, mumbling silently to himself.

"Seriously, that jump could have been higher! And what was _that_ look for? Trying to seduce my Haruko? No way will she fall for that! No! Haruko don't look!" Sakuragi rambled on as he watched Rukawa move gracefully across the dance floor. Just as he was about to turn away, the raven-haired man turned and caught his gaze. A slight smirk was already beginning to form at the corners of the man's lips.

Sakuragi watched aghast as Haruko swooned at Rukawa's smirk but quickly stepped out of sight before the girl could turn to follow Rukawa's line of vision. "Damn Rukawa and his stupid smirk!" cursed Sakuragi under his breath as he went back to mopping the office floor.

The day practically crept by for Sakuragi as he waited impatiently for dance practice to end. He tried to keep himself busy, worrying over invisible stains on the glass windows and dusting non-existing dust from the furniture, all the while glancing at the clock on the wall as he counted down time by the second. He couldn't wait to start on his nightly dance practice and was praying hard that Rukawa wouldn't be there to disturb his peace, but that prayer probably went unheard when he found the man practicing in the studio again that night.

"YOU!" shouted Sakuragi as he slammed the door opened, "Why are you here again?!"

Rukawa stopped in mid-pose, looking thoroughly amused at Sakuragi's dramatic entrance. "I should ask you the same question," replied Rukawa in his monotonous voice as he walked over to the compact hi-fi to stop the music.

"Haven't you practiced enough?! Go home!" demanded Sakuragi as he made hand movements resembling that of shooing away unwanted animals. He thought that if he was persistent, the other man might leave.

"If you haven't noticed, the festival is nearing," Rukawa started. "I need practice and I've got permission from Manager Akagi. What business do you have here?" asked Rukawa as he stood his ground, determined to keep his right to use the studio.

"Well, of course I have business here!" Sakuragi argued, "I'm... I'm... I'm here to challenge you to another match, fox face! And the winner will win the right to use this studio after practice hours!" he exclaimed looking rather victorious over nothing.

"Didn't you lose the last match? You are still a long way from winning…" said Rukawa.

"No I did not! It − It was a draw, but I will beat you this time!" defended Sakuragi as he walked towards the compact hi-fi that Rukawa was standing next to. Pushing the other man aside, he proceeded to play around with the chunk of equipment until static noise faded out to music.

"Free-style this," said Sakuragi imitating Rukawa's previous challenge with his arms crossed. He didn't have the slightest idea why he was doing this; maybe it was something about the other man's dance that had drawn him over, like moth to fire. "But we'll take turns this time!"

Rukawa shrugged in silent agreement and gestured for Sakuragi to start.

"No, you start first. We must leave the best for last of course," said Sakuragi, unwilling to be the first to be scrutinized. He needed time to get ready.

"Then watch carefully," said Rukawa before he started into his first move.

His moves were jerky yet graceful in a sense, as if the strong beats of the song were controlling his every action. There were jumps, well executed pirouettes and a lot of groundwork. When Rukawa finally completed his last move on the studio floor, in a painful looking hunch, he turned to look at Sakuragi. "Your turn."

For a moment, Sakuragi felt his confidence slip (just a little!). He didn't know if he could dance better than the other man, had no idea why he issued the challenge in the first place. Somehow, Rukawa's dance had felt a little different from yesterday. The whole aura was a little different and he felt intimidated by the change.

"Well then. Please watch carefully too," said Sakuragi as he quickly regained his composure. "I'll show you what a genius is."

The song that came on next was a ballad and Sakuragi cursed silently. Damn, the stupid DJ. He wasn't good with the slower songs as it exposes his weaknesses rather easily. Just like yesterday. Not wanting a repeat like before, Sakuragi had tried his best to keep his arms from flailing like Rukawa had pointed out and had tried to make firm decisions on how he wanted to carried out a move and the feelings he wanted to convey, but all his worrying had resulted in a dance that lack the passion that was always present in his moves.

He had just executed a kick when he felt someone grab his thigh.

Taken aback, he almost lost his balance before an arm held him steady by the waist.

"Wha − what was that for?!" shouted Sakuragi who was surprised by Rukawa's sudden move.

"Your leg, kick it higher. Try it again."

"It's not in sync with the song now!" Sakuragi protested as he tried to struggle out of Rukawa's grip. Rukawa was giving him advice? The pigs are going to fly.

"Are you an idiot?" asked Rukawa a little coldly, "Just do as I say."

"You! Arrogant fox!" retorted Sakuragi before executing the kick as high as he could. "There! Good enough?"

Rukawa snorted, "Is that the best you can do?" Moving to stand a slight distance away from Sakuragi, he demonstrated his kick. "This is how you execute a proper high kick, but I guess you're not as flexible as I thought you were." He turned back to face Sakuragi, looking serious for a moment. "If you are going to be overly conscious about making mistakes, you'll end up looking stiff and… statue-like," he advised, throwing Sakuragi's words back at him.

"So I guess I get to use the studio after practice hours from now on?" said Rukawa as he bent down to pick a towel from his bag. He was not exactly expecting a reply from Sakuragi when he had asked the question.

Sakuragi was positively fuming by then. He had never felt this humiliated before in his whole life. Okay, maybe there was this once or twice… or thrice but never like this.

"You can use the studio too. I don't mind sharing," Rukawa continued, his voice bland as he leaned against the mirrored wall to look at the red-haired man.

"Temee! If you were thinking that I was going to reject your offer! Then I'm sorry to inform you that you're so wrong!" shouted Sakuragi as he turned around to pack his stuff. He has this sudden feeling of déjà vu as he started towards the door. "I'll be back!" he said, "Tomorrow!" he finished before slamming the door behind him.

"Ahou…" Rukawa muttered when the door slammed shut.

_To be continued…_


	5. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer****: **Unfortunately, I do not own SLAM DUNK. These wonderful boys belong to the great Takehiko Inoue.

**Pairing**: RuHana (Duh)

**Warning**: Slash/YAOI whatever, PG-13 (just in case)

**Dance to the Rhythm of Love**  
_Written by Merri_

Chapter 4

It was a mad rush to improve his techniques after Sakuragi got home that night. He did stretches to improve his flexibility, practiced his dance techniques to "Learning Ballet" tapes he had borrowed from the local rental store and re-watched recordings he had made of the televised dance competitions. He swore to himself that he will not lose to Rukawa the next time.

Rukawa glanced towards door for the umpteenth time during practice the next evening. Sakuragi was not there and he had briefly wondered if the loud-mouthed man had given up after his second defeat the previous night. It would be a pity, if it were true; he had been looking forward to watch him grow. The man did seem to possess a lot of potential.

"Rukawa! Please concentrate!" shouted Ayako when he nearly dropped Haruko during a catch.

"Are you alright, Rukawa?" whispered Haruko when she noticed Rukawa's lack of concentration.

"I'm fine," replied Rukawa before averting his eyes away to end the conversation.

It was a good two hours later before they were interrupted by a commotion outside the studio. Somebody was audibly shouting and it was no doubt that the voice had belonged to none other than the company's manager, Akagi Takenori, Haruko's elder brother.

"Two hours! You were late for two hours! And all you can tell me is that you've overslept?!" shouted Akagi as he stared down at Sakuragi's bowed head.

"I'm very sorry! I promise! It will not happen again!" answered Sakuragi, bowing as low as he could in apology. He had meant it to be a short nap when his shift at his father's car garage had ended, but his overnight practice must have worn him to the bone and had ended up falling fast asleep.

"Again? You better not let this happen _again_! Now, get back to work!" bellowed Akagi before he stormed back to his office desk.

Rukawa wasn't sure why he had felt relieved to know that the idiot was only late for work. Maybe it was because it meant that he will have something to look forward to in the nights to come. He watched as Sakuragi hunched his shoulders and sulked off to probably collect his cleaning equipments.

"Rukawa! One more time and you're out of this studio for good!" shouted Ayako when he threw Haruko a little too hard during an assisted jump.

~' * '~

Sakuragi panted as he ran down the corridor of the building, he had just finished packing his equipment and was already running late for his nightly practices. He didn't want to end practice too late today and it was already five minutes past mid-night. When he finally slammed the studio door open, he found Rukawa sitting on the studio floor, apparently taking a break.

"You're late," Rukawa pointed out before taking a sip from his water bottle.

"I'm not!" Sakuragi protested, "I just decided to come a little later than usual, that's all." He threw his bag down a few meters away from Rukawa, determined to keep some distance between them.

"Show me your kick," asked Rukawa out of the blue.

"What? No way!" said Sakuragi as he set his leg down from the bar where he was stretching at. "Who do you think you are?!"

"Don't you want to defeat me?" asked Rukawa. He got up from where he was sitting to look challengingly at Sakuragi, daring the man to reject him.

"Of course I do! Just −"

"Then kick," interrupted Rukawa as he stood back and waited for Sakuragi to do as he was told, which he did in the end although a little reluctantly.

"Too low," Rukawa lied.

The truth was, it was much better than yesterday but he didn't feel the need to inform Sakuragi of that. Maybe he was just jealous of Sakuragi's improvement. Flexibility was not something you can improve within a day or two and Sakuragi just kept going against the rules of logic every time.

_To be continued…_


	6. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer****: **Unfortunately, I do not own SLAM DUNK. These wonderful boys belong to the great Takehiko Inoue.

**Author's note:** Okies, if you've read DTTROL before, like in 2003 or sometime before today, please read it from the beginning again. The story is kinda different from before ^_^U *sheepish grin* so err... you might need to read it again in order to grasp the storyline...

Comments are welcomed and very very much appreciated :))) Thank you!!

**Pairing**: RuHana (Duh)

**Warning**: Slash/YAOI whatever, PG-13 (just in case)

**Dance to the Rhythm of Love**  
_Written by Merri_

Chapter 5

It has been two weeks since their first practice together and to Sakuragi's relief, the other man had left him mostly alone. Except for the two or three incidents where Sakuragi's bad dance habits or failure to execute a movement properly had grated on Rukawa's nerves enough to earn him some criticism and instructions from the normally silent man. Like currently.

In situations like this, it is usually rare that they don't end up in a fight instead.

"As expected from an idiot," drawled Rukawa from his side of his studio.

"Temee! Are you itching for a punch to your nose?!" asked a red-faced Sakuragi as he stormed over to Rukawa while waving his clenched fist.

"If you want to practice our dance routine, at least do so profess −" said Rukawa but was interrupted when a fist came swinging his way. He had only managed to catch it mere inches off his face, but the pain that jarred down his arm had left him in cold sweat.

"Resorting to violence again?" asked Rukawa lazily as he pushed the fist away. "Not worried about losing your job?"

"Are you threatening me?!" asked Sakuragi as he tried to control his arm from swinging out again.

"No," Rukawa replied after a short pause.

Practice had been as usual for the both of them, until the day Sakuragi decided to practice moves from the company's evening practices. Rukawa had been both amused and excited at the man's decision. Yes, Sakuragi was still sloppy with his moves, but that didn't stop him from harbouring the idea of partnering with the red-head for their festival dance.

"Let's practice together." The words left his lips before he could stop them.

"What?" Sakuragi asked, a little surprised by Rukawa's sudden request.

"Nothing."

"You asked to practice together... " Sakuragi asked. "Didn't you?" Aren't they rivals in some way? No, they _are_ rivals.

"Ahou, I did not."

"Yes, you did!" Sakuragi exclaimed, "You finally recognized my genius dancing abilities, haven't you?!" He burst into bout of boisterous laughter, arms akimbo.

There was a dramatic sigh before Rukawa looked up, a faint blush on his cheeks. "You're just a convenient temporary practice partner, that's all."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Sakuragi grinned, totally enjoying the feel of finally gaining an upper-hand over Rukawa.

"So, you're accepting?" Rukawa asked.

"Well, since you were begging so nicely..." Sakuragi drawled. "It would be mean of me to reject your request, isn't it?"

Ignoring the blatant distortion of truth, Rukawa decided to take things as it is and proceed with the practice. He couldn't wait.

"You will take Haruko's role," said Rukawa. "You memorized her moves too, did you?" He caught Sakuragi's eye and smirked, "or maybe, I overestimated your abilities..."

"Temee! Of course I memorized her moves! And I can say the same for the rest of the dancers," replied Sakuragi cockily. "Though whether or not you're able to lift a man as tall and heavy as me, is another question. Hah!"

"Take on the role and I will show you," Rukawa challenged.

"Then I'll take it," Sakuragi answered, not believing that Rukawa could really lift a man like him. He looked at least a good centimeter taller and wider than the raven-haired man.

~' * '~

Five minutes into the routine, Sakuragi silently commended Haruko's stamina as he leaped; knees bent in a mid-air turn before he landed into a roll. "And this is where you're supposed to drag me up from the floor, lift me above your shoulders, spin me around and make me feel girly," said Sakuragi sarcastically as he looked up at Rukawa.

Rukawa smirked at the comment, "Do you know the story behind this dance routine?" he asked out of the blue from where he was standing.

Sakuragi made a face, as if Rukawa had asked him the silliest question on earth. "What has that got to do with this anyway?" he asked, "but no, I don't know the story and why would I want to know? It's most probably some love story anyway."

"Dou ahou," scolded Rukawa, looking quite disgusted at Sakuragi's ignorance. "It's your responsibility! Your role as a performer is to help the choreographer bring across the story to the audience."

"Baka Kitsune! Of course I already knew that!" Sakuragi lied, earning a disbelieving look from the other man. "Well, it's not like I can tell much about the story from your dance either."

"You aren't any better, yourself," said Rukawa, "and this dance isn't just any love story."

"Then what is it?" asked Sakuragi, looking every bit uninterested.

"It's an unrequited love between a Sea nymph and the Sun Goddess, so you'll need to express the feelings appropriately in your moves."

Sakuragi might have bought into the whole dance-with-feeling story had Rukawa pumped in a little more emotion into his ever monotonous voice and poker face. As it is, he couldn't help but find it funny that such words were coming out from the stoic man's mouth.

"Really… tell me more then. About the story," said Sakuragi looking not one bit sincere in his request. Not with that goofy grin on his face anyway.

To Sakuragi's surprise, Rukawa did tell him more about the story, though a much summarized version. He told him about the Sea nymph who would watch from afar as the Sun Goddess sunk into the dark depths of the vast ocean each day at dusk. How she struggled with despair each time the darkness enveloped her and how she came to meet the Sea nymph who showed her the wonders of the sea and how they would separate at dawn and the Sea nymph would watch as his beloved would leave him for the sky again.

"That was a boring story," commented Sakuragi as he pretended to examine the nails on his fingers.

Rukawa simply sighed before he stood up from where he was sitting. "Practice," he said like he had just thought of something, "We'll start from where you stopped."

Sakuragi had no time to process the sudden change of event before Rukawa walked over from where he was and wrapped his arm around Sakuragi's waist from where he was sitting on the wooden floor.

"This is to accommodate your size," said Rukawa in his monotonous voice before Sakuragi's protested about the reference to his size. "Now wrap your right arm around my neck," he continued before lifting Sakuragi off the floor when the other complied. It all happened in a blink of an eye when Rukawa guided Sakuragi forward three steps in succession before assisting him into a leap and kick combination with the directions spoken softly into his ears.

"There, I lifted you, Ahou," said Rukawa with a smirk when they came to a standstill.

_To be continued…_


	7. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer****: **Unfortunately, I do not own SLAM DUNK. These wonderful boys belong to the great Takehiko Inoue.

**Author's note:** So… how is it, so far? Should I continue? or this is crap and I should go back to my tiny hole in the ground and play my violin instead -_-|||

**Pairing**: RuHana (Duh)

**Warning**: Slash/YAOI whatever, PG-13 (just in case)

**Dance to the Rhythm of Love**  
_Written by Merri_

Chapter 6

Rukawa proceeded to make a list of changes to the existing routine, replacing high lifts and long carries with the lesser taxing lower lifts and shorter carries. Parts that require contact with the rest of the eight member dance group or had group formations were effectively removed. The resulting routine was a shorter and slightly more masculine version of the original, with plenty of contact work between both dancers.

"Seriously, if the dance is no longer the same as the original, how do you consider this as practice?" Sakuragi asked while trying to remember the new moves Rukawa had instructed.

"Any dance is practice." Rukawa simply replied. "Let's start."

Even though Sakuragi was feeling a little disgruntled about taking on Haruko's role, he was still rather excited at his first partnering experience. As they got into their respective starting positions, he could hear his heart beating clearly in his ears.

The dance had started out a little awkward. Sakuragi was feeling uncomfortable with the physical contacts he had with Rukawa but as he slowly got into the routine, the discomfort was quickly tossed out of his mind. The chemistry was, surprisingly, instantaneous and even though a few mistakes had been made, the routine had otherwise progressed smoothly.

"That was brilliant!" exclaimed Sakuragi after the routine. "As expected of the genius that is me!" It was a totally different feeling from dancing solo and he _loved_ it.

"Let's practice again!" Sakuragi happily concluded as he turned to face Rukawa, only to find the man on the floor panting and drenched in sweat. The extra weight he had to carry, in addition to the pace of the dance had had him a little exhausted after a round of practice.

"If you're too tired," said Sakuragi, "we can always practice tomorrow." He shrugged his shoulders and shook his head in pity.

"No. Now is fine," Rukawa replied as he got up to prepare himself for the next round.

The practice that followed had taken on a totally different tone and it didn't take Sakuragi long to notice. It was a bombardment of criticism.

"Bend your arms more."

"Lower your head."

"Your legs, keep them perpendicular to the floor."

"Arch your back a little."

"Your pirouette is too fast, you did more than three there."

"Temee Kitsune! Are you taking me for a fool?!" shouted Sakuragi after Rukawa's tenth comment on his routine.

"Ahou, you're too sloppy." Rukawa replied. "Look in the mirror. Is that the form you're trying to achieve?" His leniency had resulted in ego inflation for Sakuragi and he felt it was time to hit the man down a notch or two before he got too full of himself.

"No…" Sakuragi answered, a little reluctantly. He _had_ gotten a little too engrossed in the adrenaline high and had forgotten to monitor his own moves. "Well, fine! We'll start over again! And I'll show you the genius' perfect form!"

Rukawa snorted but went back to the starting position of the routine to start over.

~' * '~

The pair continued to practice every night even though practice hours were reduced from three hours to two instead. Rukawa had pointed out that he had other nightly commitments to attend to but had refused to explain the details to Sakuragi.

It was hard to fault him for being secretive, as Sakuragi would definitely have ridiculed him for being weak if he ever were to find out about Rukawa's nightly trip to the gym to build his arm muscles.

"Hey, do you think Rukawa looks sleepier than usual?" asked Miyagi Ryota as he nudged his partner.

Mitsui Hisashi looked up from his floor exercise feeling a little irritated at being disturbed. "Doesn't he always look sleepy?"

"No, no, it's different today! Look, his eyes are half instead of three-quarters closed." Miyagi observed.

"I don't see a problem if he continues to perform as well as he has been during the past few practices," said Mitsui as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Ayako had been complimenting him for finally getting some _feeling_ into his dance."

"Ah, but with that aura of tiredness looming around him… I'm worried that he might be pushing himself a little too hard."

"Kogure!" exclaimed both Miyagi and Mitsui in surprise when they realized just who had made the last comment.

"Weren't you discussing something with Manager Akagi a moment ago?" asked Miyagi as he looked around for the manager.

"It just ended." The bi-spectacled man replied with a gentle smile.

"So what was it about?" asked Mitsui, his eye gleaming with curiosity.

Kogure adjusted his spectacles. "Nothing much... You know Akagi's friend, Uozumi Jun?"

"Uozumi Jun… Uozumi… Is he the manager of Ryonan?!" Miyagi asked in excitement. "Oh, my god! Aren't they one of the most prestigious dance companies in Kanagawa?!"

"Yes, that's right. It seems like the Ryonan Dance Company will be giving us a visit sometime this week," replied Kogure as he joined Mitsui on the floor.

"No way! What are they here for?" asked Mitsui suspiciously, scooting towards the left to make space for the man.

"We'll never know, but who cares? We must definitely show them the strength that is Shohoku!" said Miyagi right before Ayako started to clap her hands, signifying the start of the day's practice.

_To be continued…_


	8. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer****: **Unfortunately, I do not own SLAM DUNK. These wonderful boys belong to the great Takehiko Inoue.

**Author's note:** Thanks for the reviews so far!! Only 3 but I really appreciated the time you guys took to drop me the encouragement :)) The next chapter should be up soon I hope, I'm kinda juggling lots of stuff at a time, so yeah, seeing those little reviews at the end of a hard day really helped alot *beams*

**Gaelle**: Glad you enjoyed it :) and thanks for taking the time to repost your review when it got lost in cyberspace XD

**i-got-m2m** & **tensai11**: Thanks!! and here's the next update! :D

BTW, anybody ard here from SDBC?? am just curious ^_^U

**Dance to the Rhythm of Love**  
_Written by Merri_

Chapter 7

Whistling, Sakuragi entered the office with his cleaning equipment, only to find it empty. "Hmm? Akagi is not at his desk?"

It was currently an hour before their usual Saturday practice and it was rare that Akagi was not already in office settling the company's administrative matters. Thinking that the man might be in the dance studio, he walked over to the door to peek in from the glass window and found not Akagi but a stranger standing by the studio's window.

"Oi! What are you doing here?" asked Sakuragi as he entered the studio. Who knows if that guy could be a thief?

"Oh, Hello!" said the stranger as he turned around to face Sakuragi. "I guess I am too early today, and that in itself is quite a miracle," he continued with a wide smile.

Sakuragi flashed him a confused look, not really understanding the man's overwhelming friendliness. "Who are you? And what are you doing here in our dance studio?"

"Ah, I'm sorry! I must have forgotten to introduce myself," the man apologized before promptly reaching out a hand for a handshake. "I'm Sendoh Akira, from the Ryonan Dance Company. Nice to meet you." He smiled again.

"Sendoh Akira? Erm, are you Akagi's guest?" Sakuragi asked, ignoring all courtesy and Sendoh's hand.

"Yes, you can say so," replied Sendoh with a chuckle, withdrawing his hand with a shrug, "and may I ask who you are? You're one of the dancers, am I right?"

Sakuragi grinned. "Of course I am!" he exclaimed before giving Sendoh a rough pat on the back. "I'm Sakuragi Hanamichi, Rising Star of the Shohoku Dance Company!" He striked a pose. "So you better start watching out for me 'cause I'm gonna to take Japan by storm!"

Sendoh blinked, a little overwhelmed by the Sakuragi's antics. "Sakuragi Hanamichi…" he repeated thoughtfully before breaking into a smile. "Sure, I'll keep watch!"

He was about to reach out to return Sakuragi's pat when the door was slammed opened.

"Sakuragi!" shouted Rukawa as he entered. "Didn't Akagi tell you not to talk to strangers?"

"Rukawa? Temee! Who I talk to is none of your business!" Sakuragi protested. "What are you doing here so early anyway? Don't you normally sleep in on Saturdays?"

"Quiet," said Rukawa as he pushed Sakuragi aside to stand before Sendoh.

"Kitsune! Don't you dare push the genius aside like this!"

"Who are you?" asked Rukawa as he eyed the other man suspiciously, totally ignoring Sakuragi's protests.

"Oh, hi! I'm Sendoh Akira from the Ryonan Dance Company," he introduced before he was promptly distracted by the sound of laughter from the main entrance.

"Wow! Rukawa, you are early today!" exclaimed Kogure as he stepped into the studio with the rest of the group trailing behind him.

"We decided to meet up for brunch this afternoon, but Haruko had problems contacting..." Miyagi continued before drifting off when he noticed Sendoh's presence. "Hey, who's that guy?" he asked and looked towards Kogure for an answer.

"Sendoh Akira," replied Mitsui when he spotted the man.

"Eh! No way! That well-known choreographer and dancer, Sendoh Akira?!" squealed Haruko as she stuck her head out from behind Kogure's shoulder to sneak a peek.

"Hello!" greeted Sendoh when he noticed the sudden attention.

He was about to step forward to formally introduce himself when Akagi appeared at the doorway with a taller man by his side.

"Sendoh! We were looking for you!" the taller man exclaimed.

Sendoh greeted him with a sheepish wave. "Sorry, just wanted to take a look at Shohoku's lovely dance studio."

"Well, since Sendoh is now with us, let's start with the introductions," said Akagi before clapping his hands to gain the attention of the dancers before him.

"May I have your attention, please," said Akagi in his deep resounding voice, "let me introduce to you today, our guests from the Ryonan Dance Company." He let his eyes sweep across the room to make sure that he had captured the attention of every single person before he gestured to the two men who were flanking his sides. "On my right is Mr Uozumi Jun, whom some of you may recognize, the manager of the Ryonan Dance Company," he said, pausing a moment for the group to applaud as Uozumi bowed slightly in greeting. "And on my left is Mr Sendoh Akira, dancer-cum-choreographer extraordinaire of Ryonan, Sendoh Akira." The ladies broke out into squeals of delight as Sendoh sent a flirtatious wink their way while the men clapped on listlessly, obviously irked at his popularity with the opposite sex.

"If you were wondering why they are here today," Akagi smiled, "it is due to a dance collaboration that we will be holding an audition for in a while."

"A dance collaboration?" Kogure asked, a bare hint of excitement in his voice. "Where then is the rest of the Ryonan Dance Company?"

"To answer your question, the committee members of the Modern Dance Festival have decided to include some collaborative works in this year's program line-up." Akagi explained as the group burst into excited whispers.

"They understand the time constraints and have therefore decided that all collaborations will be duets and will each last between three to five minutes. This will explain why only Sendoh and I are here today," continued Uozumi from where Akagi had left off. "We're here to choose a representative from the Shohoku Dance Company to be Sendoh's partner in this male duet."

"Male duet?!" blurted Miyagi, looking a little disgusted. "It is not some homosexual themed routine, is it?" he asked, earning himself a glare from his manager.

"No, it is not," replied Uozumi, his voice deep from suppressed irritation. "But then again, we're not the choreographer. Sendoh will be in-charge of the choreography for this item."

Sendoh grinned as he turned to look at Uozumi in the eye. "Actually, I _was_ thinking about something along the lines of… homosexuality."

"Sendoh!" Uozumi roared before Sendoh put his hands up in surrender. "I was just joking!" Sendoh defended.

"I have yet to start on a concept or the approach for this routine yet, but I suppose somebody around my height would be a good start," said Sendoh while scratching the back of his head.

Akagi looked thoughtful as he considered Sendoh's suggestion, arms crossed and brows knitted together. "It is going to be a challenge," he said finally. "I assume that you'll be sharing the role of the lead between you and your partner to balance it out?"

Sendoh nodded. "Yes, you're right to assume so. And I'm aware about the limitations with contact work, as expected since we'll have to life a partner of our own size and all. Wouldn't want to break our backs." He looked turned to look at Akagi and smiled. "But I guess it is the prospect of a challenge that makes this so… exciting."

There was a pregnant pause as Akagi held on to Sendoh's challenging gaze. It was as if a silent conversation was held between the two before they reach an agreement and Akagi snorted. "In that case, the list of candidates available would be narrowed down to two," Akagi pointed out. "We have both Mitsui and Rukawa standing at approximately six feet one and two respectively."

Both men were then called to the front. "You'll each have two minutes to present a routine of your choice," said Akagi, "and you'll have 10 minutes to prepare."

Sendoh watched as both men started to go about their stretching exercises, also taking notice of Rukawa's cold glare being cast his way every few seconds. "They _are_ around my height," said Sendoh as he tapped a finger on his chin absently. "But what about him?" he said pointing towards a corner of the studio where Sakuragi was inconspicuously standing. The group turned and was surprised to find the manager's assistant at the corner, and was now fidgeting under their curious gaze.

"Sakuragi?" asked Akagi when he recognized the red hair. "What are you doing here?" His voice was loud and clear in the studio.

"I… I was cleaning?" Sakuragi answered uncertainly with a weak laugh.

"Cleaning?" repeated Akagi, "and where are your cleaning equipments? I don't think you are performing the task with your bare hands, are you?"

"I −"

"Is he not a dancer with your company?" Sendoh interrupted, unknowingly saving Sakuragi from having to explain himself.

"A dancer?" Akagi asked, amused. "I have no idea what made you think that he was but he really is just my assistant. I doubt he can dance."

"Assistant?" Sendoh asked silently to himself before turning to look oddly at Sakuragi.

"I _can_ dance!" Sakuragi exclaimed, taking a step forward from where he was standing. He knew very well that his pride was getting in the way and that he really should keep quiet. Who knew if Akagi would dismiss him from the job for speaking up at inappropriate times?

"Sakuragi, keep quiet and get back to work," Akagi ordered. He was about to move forward to throw Sakuragi out when somebody stopped him.

"Akagi, wait," said Sendoh, as he rested his hand on Akagi's arm. "I'm curious, why don't we let him try out for the part?"

"We're not going to waste anymore time just to satisfy your curiosity, Sendoh." Akagi looked down at him authoritatively. "He is my staff, I will decide on whether he stays or not."

Sendoh smiled. "Yes, of course," he said as he tucked both hands into his trouser pockets. "But the final decision, on who to choose as my partner, will be made by myself, isn't it?" He asked and knew from Akagi's expression that he had won.

"As you wish," Akagi gritted out and proceeded to order the three to prepare themselves.

_To be continued…_


	9. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer****: **Unfortunately, I do not own SLAM DUNK. These wonderful boys belong to the great Takehiko Inoue.

**Author's note: **The next chap! Is it really not decent enough?? T__T Nobody wanna spare me a review? Anyway, my reserve is only up to Chapter 9 ^_^U So yeah, I'm kinda stuck now, heh. Have been slacking on my violin practices to get these out and kinda ended up doing really badly in class. Updates might be a little slower but maybe a review or two might help speed things up XDDD Just kidding. The chapters are short... eh, very sorry. I should call them "parts" instead.

Gaelle: SenHana! I think I've only written one SenHana in my entire life :P Sendoh is mostly the third-party my RuHana. There will be interactions between them, though how it will be played out, we'll have to wait and see *__*. You've been to SDBC! Actually, most of the old fics are archived, you can find them on the Yahoo group, sdfic.

sillyme: The main pairing will be RuHana :) Jealous Rukawa? Lots to come XD

**Pairing**: RuHana (Duh)

**Warning**: Slash/YAOI whatever, PG-13 (just in case)

**Dance to the Rhythm of Love**  
_Written by Merri_

Chapter 8

Mitsui was first to take to the floor. The studio was silent has he danced. His body drew out hard, firm lines of imagery, while his steps were kept graceful and fluid at the same time. It was hard to tell that he had a three-year blank in his dancing career, due to a knee injury. Other than the small clue from him already panting hard from the short two minute routine, you really couldn't guess.

When it was finally Rukawa's turn, he turned to look briefly at Sakuragi before starting on his routine. It had started out fast-paced with a series of jumps, and a furious mix of ballet and modern dance steps. Despite the lack of background music and the fast pace, the dance was decidingly somber. It was a very technical routine and Sakuragi couldn't help but mutter "Show-off" under his breath when it ended.

"Your turn, Sakuragi" said Uozumi when Rukawa was done. He was just as curious as Sendoh about the truth in Sakuragi's claims.

Sakuragi clenched his fists in self-encouragement as he stepped forward. He tried to think of a routine that he could use but had found that his mind was empty. Entirely blank from nervousness, and he panicked. He didn't think he could free-style at a time like this.

He cast a nervous look towards Rukawa, not consciously knowing why he had, but when he saw the man shaking his head with a sigh after catching his gaze, he tossed all nerves into the wind.

"I − I need a partner!" said Sakuragi, his chin high in stubbornness. He wasn't sure what Akagi was going to think of this but the only routine that he could remember at the moment was the one that Rukawa had modified for their partnering practices.

Akagi raised an eyebrow at the Sakuragi's request. "Sakuragi, you do know that you're expected to do a solo, do you?" he asked. He hadn't expected much from Sakuragi from the beginning and was starting to believe that he was right, the man just couldn't dance.

"I do! It's just that… the only routine that I know of, since I started, is a partnering piece." Sakuragi explained. His face flushed from embarrassment.

Sendoh chuckled. "That's interesting," he said before Akagi could comment. "Pick your partner then, and I do hope she knows the routine well, we don't really have the time for you to rehearse."

Sakuragi grinned before slapping Sendoh hard on his back causing the man to cough. "You are a good guy after all!" he happily declared before turning to face Rukawa with a devious smile. "Rukawa will be my partner and don't worry because we don't lack practice for this."

~' * '~

Rukawa sighed when he heard his name. He had been expecting it when the man had announced that he wanted a partner.

"Rukawa, what is this about?" Akagi asked as Rukawa walked to the front.

The studio was overwhelmed with mutterings from his fellow dancers, and if he had tried to listen in closely, he would have caught a few whispers of the word "gay" scattered sparsely in their discussions.

"Nothing special," replied Rukawa coolly. "I needed a practice partner and he was convenient," he said before coming to stand before Sakuragi.

"Oi Kitsune! You were the one who was begging for my help!" Sakuragi protested.

"Ahou," was Rukawa's only reply. "You better make my effort worth it."

"Temee!"

"Enough!" said Akagi, irritation apparent in his twitching lips, "Please get on with it." He gestured with his hands for them to proceed.

Sakuragi huffed, pushing Rukawa aside to take his starting position. "Kitsune, are you ready?!" Sakuragi glared.

"Ahou, nobody will ask out loud if their partner is ready on stage."

Sakuragi blushed when he heard someone snickered somewhere. "Temee! I knew that!" he shouted, "just wanted to make sure you got your big fat ass ready. That's all!" Getting his blush in control, he turned again to give Rukawa a look before they started into the routine on the same count.

They threw themselves across the floor, moving like a swift glide in the deep waters of the ocean. They rolled, they leaped, they flipped and they undulated like the creatures of the dark depths. Each move was deliberate, a mixture of fast and slow movements depicting the emotional ride of the characters and it showed off the amazing strength and flexibility of both men, especially Sakuragi who shone like the sun he was.

"Where have I seen this before?" asked Miyagi as he watched, eyes glued to the pair.

Mitsui turned to look at his friend, incredulously. "Are you blind?" he asked. "Don't you remember seeing this everyday?" When Miyagi shook his head in reply, Mitsui promptly slapped him across the back of his head.

"Ouch!" cried Miyagi. "That was totally uncalled for!" he protested, rubbing the assaulted area, "and what did you mean about me seeing this everyday? It's not like I come in to practice these days to see that Akagi's assistant, Sakuragi, had decided to abandon his mop for the dance floor!"

"Come on! Don't tell me you don't recognize that dance sequence!" said Mitsui as he pointed at the pair. "Have Ayako's absence today made you dumb?"

Miyagi glared at Mitsui slightly at the insult before he paused for a moment, seemingly in thought. "Ah! It's that routine!" exclaimed Miyagi in a hushed voice, "the one that we have been practicing for the festival!"

"Took you long enough, Miyagi," Kogure smiled. "But I must say that they did do a good job adapting the group choreography to a duet, so far."

"That I must agree," said Mitsui, "and it is a surprise to know that Sakuragi can actually dance that well."

~' * '~

They were both panting hard by the time the routine was over. Having been too immersed in the dance that they had forgotten to stop at the two minutes limit. There was a brief silence, after the dance, before a sharp clap resounded, gradually increasing in frequency before the group broke into a round of applause.

"I must say," said Sendoh as he walked up to the front clapping, "that was quite amazing."

Sakuragi looked up from where he was, bent at the waist with hands resting on his thighs, and broke into a smile. "Amazing?" he asked as he straightened up, ignoring Rukawa's snort at his question. "That is all thanks to me of course!" He exclaimed, bursting into a haughty laugh, both hands on his hips.

Mutterings erupted once again from the floor at Sakuragi's arrogant declaration and mostly of displeasure. "Seriously, who did he think he is?" grumbled Miyagi. "He wasn't even _that_ good!"

Sendoh smiled at their responses before reaching up to rub the back of his neck as if searching for the right thing to say. "Seriously," he started. "Why didn't you join Shohoku immediately as a dancer?" he asked watching Sakuragi with genuine interest.

"Eh?" asked Sakuragi, looking a little confused at the question. "Erm, that was −"

"Because he couldn't dance then," Rukawa continued.

"Temee! Stupid fox! That is not true!" Sakuragi protested as he walked over to grab Rukawa by the collar of his shirt. He was about to give the other man a good shake when a shout of disbelief distracted him.

"Eh?!" someone, decidedly female, exclaimed.

"Didn't he join us just two months ago?" asked another.

"You must be joking!" a male exclaimed this time.

"Wasn't he supposed to be just loud-mouthed and brainless?" another asked in disbelief.

The studio was in chaos as everyone voiced their opinions about Sakuragi's apparent talent. They just couldn't believe that an amateur could be that good from only two months of practice.

Sakuragi on the other hand was looking rather affronted by the various comments made, each making a dent to his ego rather than inflating it like he had expected.

"Quiet!" shouted Akagi, his eyes boring down on his dancers, daring them to make the slightest of sound. There was a moment of uneasy silence before Sendoh cleared his throat to break it. "Is that true, Sakuragi?" he asked.

Sakuragi frowned, uncomfortable with Sendoh's sudden seriousness. "To which question?" he asked. Was it true that he was loud-mouthed and brainless? Of course not!

"That you had no formal training before this? Never attended workshops?"

"No," Sakuragi replied, not really understanding what the fuss was about.

Sendoh burst out into a laugh. "Things are getting very interesting, indeed," he said while wiping tears of laughter from his eyes. "Uozumi, Akagi, I think I've found the perfect partnership for my routine."

_To be continued…_


	10. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer****: **Unfortunately, I do not own SLAM DUNK. These wonderful boys belong to the great Takehiko Inoue.

**Author's note: **Yayness, here's the new chap! Thanks for the reviews! Chapter 10 is going to take a while, please give me all the support you can *blatant begging* while I work out the block -_-

tensai11: Thanks again for your support! ^_^ It WILL continue XD I hope I don't keep you waiting too long :P

Lysythe: Yes yes, real tough competition :D I just enjoy making Ru jealous... I guess we all do XD

lilrocker: Wow thanks! Great to know you enjoyed every chap :D

**Pairing**: RuHana (Duh)

**Warning**: Slash/YAOI whatever, PG-13 (just in case)

**Dance to the Rhythm of Love**  
_Written by Merri_

Chapter 9

"No!" exclaimed Akagi and Rukawa in unison, though each for entirely different reasons.

"Sendoh, Sakuragi may have potential but he _is_ still a distance from your level. It is going to take more than two and half months for him to catch up," Akagi explained. "We will not make it in time for the festival!"

"And there is also the fact that he is not a member of the Shohoku Dance Company, this will be not considered as a collaborative work." Uozumi continued, to which Rukawa nodded in agreement.

Sendoh shook his head in amusement, that smile of his ever-present. "You guys really are a pessimistic bunch, aren't you?" he asked before turning to look at Rukawa. "For one, Sakuragi's partner will not be me. So I guess that will make it easier for him to catch up?"

"Sendoh, what are you playing at?" asked Uozumi, annoyed.

"I'm not playing at anything," Sendoh replied, "I just thought that Rukawa will make a better partner for Sakuragi than me. That's all."

"Wait! Stop! Stop!" interrupted Sakuragi after being ignored for so long. "What do you mean by Rukawa being my partner? Am I chosen? Does this mean I'll be performing at the festival? Am I really performing at the festival?"

"Yes, you'll be performing at the festival, if the managers approve." Sendoh grinned.

In a matter of seconds, Sendoh found Sakuragi already glued to Akagi's side, trying to work up puppy dog eyes as he clung onto the man. "Akagi-sama!" he pleaded. "Please let me perform at the festival! I'll be good! I promise!"

Akagi sighed. "Sendoh, you're not helping much," he said while trying to untangle the red-haired man from his limbs. "Neither Sakuragi nor Rukawa are from Ryonan. Why don't we just pick Rukawa as your partner instead? It'll make things so much easier for everyone."

"And since when have I done things the easy way?" Sendoh smirked. "I'll still be choreographing this dance item, aren't I?" he asked. When both managers had kept silent in agreement, he continued. "So it _will_ be considered as a dance collaboration. As for Sakuragi not being a dancer with either dance companies, why don't you, Akagi, let him join you officially? He is good, isn't he?"

Akagi crossed his arms in thought. "I'm sure it will be in good time before he becomes one of Shohoku's principle dancers." Sendoh persuaded when he saw that Akagi was starting to warm up to his suggestion.

"Akag −"

"Shut up!" Akagi bellowed when Sakuragi started to whine.

"Akagi. Why don't we give Sakuragi a chance at this?" Uozumi asked. "If he fails to reach our standards in a month's time, we can always get Sendoh back as the dancer. We do have three months more before the festival."

Akagi sighed before lifting his hand to rub the bridge of his nose. "Fine," he finally conceded. "Have it your way. Just don't come crawling back to me for help when the idiot messes up."

Sendoh shook his clenched fist in triumph while Sakuragi looked torn between being offended at being called an idiot and whopping with joy.

"Akagi, we will not disappoint you," said Sendoh as he looked Akagi in the eye, silently giving his word for it.

~' * '~

It has been a week since Sendoh's visit with Uozumi and it had since been decided that both Rukawa and Sakuragi will make their way down to Ryonan's dance studio every weekend to learn the dance choreography from Sendoh.

"Sakuragi, you need to work on your control a little more," said Sendoh who was sitting hunched on a stool. "Try again. This time pay attention to the tempo and control the speed of your movements. You're not rushing for anything."

Sakuragi gritted his teeth as he tried to keep his temper in control. He had been made to repeat the same move for the seventh time that night and it was starting to grate on his nerves. Maybe both Sendoh and Rukawa were ganging up on him or something; the man just had to choose a rather complex song for the dance routine. A song that was both fast and slow at the same time. When asked about the story or theme behind the routine, the man had simply replied with a cheeky grin and a wink, "Actually, I'm not really sure myself. I was kind of thinking about my father when I came up with the routine. What do you think?"

"Ahou, you're doing it all wrong again," commented Rukawa from the sides. He was taking a break while Sakuragi was made to brush up on his dance movements.

"Temee! Nobody asked for your opinion!" Sakuragi flushed.

Looking himself in the mirror, he repeated his moves of pirouettes in second position before side-stepping into a series of skips and contorted jumps. This was all done while alternating between agonizingly slow and ridiculously fast paces. Timing was extremely crucial in this final sequence where he was required to be in-synch with Rukawa at a certain point to create the mirroring effect. Sometimes, Sakuragi really wished Sendoh was not _that_ into the extremes of things.

Sakuragi groaned and carded his hand through his already messy hair, loosening more of the red strands from its gelled-up state. "I can't get this right!" he growled in frustration when he lost control his legs for the eighth time that day.

"Hey! Hey! Sakuragi, calm down," said Sendoh as he walked over to give Sakuragi an encouraging pat on the shoulder. "You're just a little too stressed up, that's all. Why don't we call it an end for the day? We'll continue tomorrow when you're all freshened up."

Sakuragi sighed as he got up from the floor. Maybe he really was tired, he is a genius, wasn't he?

~' * '~

He walked down the street, wondering if this was the best he could do. He had three more weeks before the final dance assessment and if he fails to reach their standard, Akagi was going to kick him out for good and maybe dismiss him from his job for wasting his time. He dropped his ticket into the gantry slot at the train station and climbed up the never ending stairs to the platform. It was only nine o'clock in evening, but the station was deserted.

"Is this hint?" he mumbled before throwing himself heavily onto the nearest seat. Maybe he wasn't a genius after all. Maybe he should give up.

There was a flash of light as a train neared and came roaring into the station platform. Sakuragi watched as it came and left, with no intention of boarding.

"Sakuragi…" someone called from above his head.

Sakuragi looked up. "Ru − Rukawa?" he asked in confusion. He didn't expect to find the man here, not at this hour and not when he had loitered around the area so that they wouldn't be on the same train home.

"You didn't take the train."

"Stating the obvious I see," said Sakuragi, raising a brow at Rukawa's statement. "Danced too much your brain rotted?" He was feeling bitter and Rukawa was a convenient punch-bag. In a matter of fact, he was itching to punch the man's nose in. Haruko wouldn't want a man with a crooked nose, would she?

"I see," said Rukawa before letting out a snort of laughter. "You're giving up?" He lifted his head to look at Sakuragi in disdain. "I guess I've overestimated you, Sakuragi," he spat before walking off.

_To be continued…_


	11. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: **Unfortunately, I do not own SLAM DUNK. These wonderful boys belong to the great Takehiko Inoue.

**Author's note: **I'm not dead yet! :D Sorry about the delay, you wouldn't believe it but my portable hdd died on me. Again. Not only that, it died right after I reformatted my laptop -_- So depressed I was, the writer's block fell on me instead of in front of me. But I'm back again, with 1 miserable chapter update (though to make up for it, I merge 2 chaps into 1) ^_^U I've gotten the plot sorted out too, so it's going to be a little longer than I intended -_-|||

A BIG Thanks to those who reviewed (Reader One, lilrocker, Minh-Tuyet & youko), this chapter is dedicated to you guys!

**Dance to the Rhythm of Love**  
_Written by Merri_

Chapter 10

﻿"I, I made it!" gasped Sakuragi as he burst through the studio doors.

"Sakuragi!" greeted Sendoh with a smile, "No hurry, I just arrived myself."

"Oh, okay…" He stole a glance in the general direction of Rukawa and found that the man was avoiding his gaze.

Well, it's none of his business if Rukawa decides to start ignoring him. He set aside his duffel bag and started to work on his stretches, wincing every now and then at the aches in his muscles.

"Damn… shouldn't have went overboard with the late night practice," muttered Sakuragi under his breath.

He had stayed up all night trying to perfect his dance moves, or least to make them better, and had ended up too exhausted and in pain to drag himself to the garage for work. His father would kill him if he knew what he had skipped work for.

"Right, when you guys are done with your warm-up, we can start from the beginning," Sendoh announced cheerily.

Sakuragi groaned inwardly and prayed to the gods above that he wouldn't mess up again. He just didn't want to reveal anymore of his weaknesses in front of Rukawa.

"You know," Sendoh started after a moment of watching from the sides. "Aren't you both a little too cold towards each other to be father and son in this routine?" He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "You need to touch a little more, and this is the part where you're supposed to be oozing kinship and love."

"Fa−Father and son!?" exclaimed Sakuragi, stopping in mid-dance.

"Yes, father and son! Decided to settle on this name and theme while I was in bed last night,' replied Sendoh with a proud smile. "I think it's brilliant! What say you?"

"No!!! It's awful! No way!" protested Sakuragi, waving his hands in disagreement.

"Why not?" asked Sendoh. "I think you make a wonderful son, what with all that rebellious air around you. You're perfect!" He slapped Sakuragi soundly on his back.

"Son?" repeated Rukawa when he finally snapped out from his initial shock.

"Come on, it's not that big a deal. Besides, I think the both of you are doing great so far! Just a little off this evening, but I guess it is just the stress that is catching up on you, isn't it?"

He took a step towards Sakuragi and motioned the red-haired man over to his side. "Here, let me show you how to get intimate with your old man."

Sakuragi made a gagging sound of disgust but went over to Sendoh anyway.

"We'll start from the beginning again and remember that, in this dance, I'm your father and you are my child." Sendoh bent down into a squat and hugged his knees towards himself. "Like a child, you trust your father and depend on him. Come on, get into your starting position and hold onto me," instructed Sendoh.

"Cling onto me like your life depended on it!" Sendoh instructed again when Sakuragi had wrapped his arms a little too loosely around him. They started together at the count of three. Subtle moves in the beginning, like a butterfly waiting to break free from its cocoon.

Rukawa watched on from the sides feeling both unhappy at having to play a "fatherly" role and the irrational urge to push Sendoh away and take back his position as Sakuragi's partner.

"Now fight me!" ordered Sendoh, "You're frustrated! You wish to break out from your father's shadow! Bang hard on those invisible walls!" They executed a sequence of erratic movements, a round of aggressive hammering with both hands on Sakuragi's part before being dragged back and up by Sendoh.

It was a little exhilarating for Sakuragi to lose all inhibitions to the wind like this. Sendoh's instructions did help guide him into the feelings he ought to convey into his moves. He had never been good with the "acting" bit of dancing.

"That was very well done!" exclaimed Sendoh when the dance came to an end. He hooked an arm around Sakuragi's shoulders and gave him a good squeeze. "So much better than yesterday! See, you were just a little stressed out, that's all!"

Sakuragi frowned despite the compliment. "But I still felt a little off-balance when I did that spin thing," he said. "Are you sure it was better?"

Sendoh tilted his head. "Well…"

"Still shabby," Rukawa interrupted as he moved to slap Sendoh's lingering arm away.

"Maybe not clean enough but I wouldn't call it shabby," said Sendoh as he rubbed his sore arm.

"You need to reduce the strength of the push when you're turning, else it's going to throw the entire turn off and you'll loose balance," advised Rukawa. He grabbed Sakuragi's arms and arranged them into position. If Sendoh could be all touchy feely, he didn't see why he couldn't as well.

"Wh−what?!" exclaimed Sakuragi as he struggled against Rukawa's hands. "Stop it! I can do it on my own!"

Rukawa stepped back.

"And what did you mean by shabby?!" asked Sakuragi, shoving the other man a little.

"Okay, okay, boys!" said Sendoh as he came forward to stop the impending fight. "That's enough; let us start with the practice now."

"Do I really have to partner with him?" Sakuragi sulked.

"I'm afraid that would be a yes to your question," replied Sendoh as he patted Sakuragi's shoulder in comfort.

* * *

Sakuragi ended up spending the rest of the evening's practice working on his turns.

Due to the lost of concentration during practice, once again Rukawa's fault, he had decided to stay behind to work on his moves a little more and had borrowed Sendoh's spare keys to lock up the studio when he was done for the day.

Facing the mirror once more, he got into position and started into his pirouettes. Keeping what Rukawa had told him in mind, he had refrained from using too much brute strength in his turns and was surprised to find that he had much better balance than before.

"Great, I'm taking advice from Rukawa…" Sakuragi grumbled as he made another round of turns.

"Haven't you given up?"

Sakuragi jumped. "Shit! Don't scare people like that!" he exclaimed when he turned to find Rukawa at the doorway.

"Just wanted to check on my partner. In case he decided to end his life because of his uselessness," said Rukawa nonchalantly as he stepped into the studio.

"You!" Sakuragi gritted out, "I never said I wanted to give up!"

"Denial will get you nowhere," said Rukawa as he threw his bag aside. "Your face is like an open book." He looked Sakuragi in the eye.

Sakuragi blushed and looked away. "Well, so what are you waiting for? Aren't you here to practice?" he asked in an attempt to change the subject.

Rukawa shrugged as he got into his stretching exercises.

Minutes passed as the both of them got on with their individual practices. The silence was thick and uncomfortable and after a few unsuccessful tries from Sakuragi to break the awkwardness of the situation, he finally blew his top.

"What is it with you today?!" shouted Sakuragi when he had finally gotten enough of the cold war. "Have I done anything to offend you?!" Well, of course he did, but at least it was neither yesterday nor today. He wasn't even sure why he was asking Rukawa this question or why being ignored by the man had made him uneasy all over.

"There is nothing wrong with me," Rukawa answered simply before he gestured towards the hi-fi. "Practice?" he asked.

Sakuragi huffed in frustration, "Well, fine!"

Maybe it was the confusion he was feeling or maybe he had felt like a misunderstood child, but for once, Sakuragi could intimately understand the feelings of the character he was trying to portray.

"You know, you don't really have to hold onto me that hard…" Sakuragi commented. They had danced to a part where Rukawa was required to hold onto him from behind. "I doubt my father would be that mushy. No scrap that, I doubt any father would be that mushy! Loosen up, would you?"

He was getting a little uncomfortable from Rukawa's touches. They seem a little different, a little wrong for the theme.

"I don't want to be your father…" Rukawa whispered. He wrapped his arms a little tighter around the red-haired man before moving on to his next move.

"Of − of course you aren't my father…" Sakuragi stammered, a little unsure of what to say. Had he just imagined that hug? Damn it! Everything was going wrong!

_To be continued…_


	12. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: **Unfortunately, I do not own SLAM DUNK. These wonderful boys belong to the great Takehiko Inoue.

**Author's note: **You thought I was dead, didn't you?? Nope, I'm still alive but this new chapter was just terribly hard to smoothen out. It took me longer than usual and due to new office location, I can no longer write in the bus and writing in the subway is a big no-no for me, not with people standing around anyway, so yeah. But its finally out and I hope you enjoyed it.

Once again, thank you so much for the reviews! Big hugs and kisses to lilrocker, Gaelle, Star7, Lysythe, Minh-Tuyet and Miyo Yukimora!

**Dance to the Rhythm of Love**  
_Written by Merri_

Chapter 12

Rukawa stayed silent throughout practice that night. Other than his usual single syllable replies, it was impossible to get any other kind of reactions out of the man. Sakuragi wondered if last night was all a fragment of his dreams...

"What is with that sulky face? Shouldn't you be the happiest man on the face of earth?" asked Youhei as he stirred his morning coffee. "Oi! Stop day dreaming!" he called out when he found his friend stoning at his drink.

"Eh? What did you say?" asked Sakuragi when he snapped out of whatever his mind was in.

"What's wrong? Things not going well at the dance studio? You look a little off..."

"It's nothing, just thinking about some... stuff," Sakuragi replied.

"Ah, so the great Sakuragi Hanamichi actually thinks, that's good to know." Youhei joked. "Anything you need help with, just let me know alright?"

"Thanks but I'm really fine, just..." Sakuragi trailed off before pressing his lips together in a grim line. "Ok, let me ask you," he finally asked, "If this person keeps popping up in your mind and just has a way of getting on your nerves and, and, you know you hate this person's guts a lot but somehow this person just makes you feel... weird at times but not in a bad way, what does that mean?"

"Well..." Youhei started.

"Well?" Sakuragi urged, "So, have I been voodooed or something?"

Youhei laughed. "No! but I must admit that you can be quite dense sometimes." Youhei sighed before slapping his friend on the back when Sakuragi looked at clueless as before, "Congrats Sakuragi! So who's the unlucky girl?"

"Wha-what do you mean?!" Sakuragi stammered, looking horrified at the implication.

"What do you mean, what do I mean? Isn't it obvious? You like the girl of course!" Youhei happily exclaimed. It has been a while since they celebrated Sakuragi last heartbreak.

"Li-like the girl?!" Sakuragi repeated, too mortified to correct his friend about the gender issue.

"Has too much dancing made you dumb?" asked Youhei, raising a brow. Sometimes, his red-haired friend can be so slow it pains him. "Does your heart go beating at the speed of light when you see her?"

"Erm, not exactly..." replied Sakuragi. It was more of accelerated heart beat from frustration and anger if he tried to remember.

"I'll take that as a 'Yes'..." Youhei decided, "And you can't help but think about her all the time, am I right?"

"Well, you can say so..." Sakuragi replied, a little unsure about his answer because thinking about how to torture a person all the time shouldn't be considered as affection, if you asked him.

"Then it's confirmed! You do like her!" Youhei concluded before shifting his chair closer towards Sakuragi, "So when are you going to confess? Need us to help? We can always play the middle-man and help pass on the confession letter if you're too shy," he teased.

"Oh, shut up already!" Sakuragi exclaimed slapping away the hand on his shoulder. "Nobody is confessing anything and whoever said it was a girl?! And why the hell am I asking you for advice?" Sakuragi grumbled, already getting up from his seat to leave. "Ok, that's it! I'm leaving, thanks for the coffee!" Tucking one hand into his pocket, he waved the other casually before escaping as fast as he could from the cafe.

"Eh?! You're leaving? What about the coffee!? and who said it was on me?!" Youhei called out after the retreating red-head.

"Damn, Sakuragi that idiot..." he cursed, pulling Sakuragi's unfinished cup of coffee over. "Not a girl huh..."

The rest of the day past by in a blur for Sakuragi, so caught up in his thoughts that he bumped his head twice while making repairs under a car.

"How can that ever be possible? Stupid Youhei and his crappy analysis..." Sakuragi mumbled as he made his way into the shabby building. "But I do think of him most of the time, don't I?" he asked out loud to nobody in particular. Jamming the button twice, he waited as the cranky old elevator made it's way down to the lobby. "BAH!! What the hell am I thinking about!? This is ridiculous!" he finally exclaimed before slapping his face twice with both hands. "Oh my god, I'm such a girl!" he groaned.

"A girl who talks to herself, very scary indeed..." said Akagi as he appeared from behind.

"What the-!" Sakuragi squeaked in surprise. "Don't scare me, Gori!!" He patted his chest in a bid to slow down his racing heart.

"Gori?" Akagi lifted a brow before frowning in anger when the Sakuragi's implication caught on with him. "Why you idiot!" He gritted out, catching the other man by the front of his shirt.

"S-sorry!! It was a slip of the tongue! I didn't mean it!" Sakuragi defended with a weak laugh as he tried to pry the fingers away from his favourite shirt. Was this retribution?

"Brother! Stop it!"

"Ha-Haruko-chan!" Sakuragi cried out happily when the girl stepped out from behind her brother to stop him from violent murder. "You're early today!" He cried out in pure adoration.

"Good evening, Sakuragi!" Haruko greeted cheerfully. Her smile bright like a thousand suns in Sakuragi's eye.

"Work ended on time, so I got a lift from my brother." She smiled.

"I-I see," Sakuragi blushed before abruptly resuming his struggle against Akagi's iron grasp. "A-Akagi! Let go of me!," he pleaded. Now that Haruko was here, it was crucial to maintain his image in front of his beautiful goddess. He was, after all, the up and coming star of the Shohoku Dance Company!

"So... how's practice with Rukawa coming along?" asked Haruko, a spot of colour appearing on her cheeks at the mention of Rukawa's name.

Sakuragi looked away, a little jealous that the blush was not due to his presence.

"It's going well!" he answered instead, "No doubt about that with the great Sakuragi Hanamichi around. We'll definitely be taking the festival by storm!!" Sakuragi exclaimed before bursting into a haughty laugh. A defensive act to hide his insecurities. Rukawa can step aside by then, and he, Sakuragi Hanamichi, shall be No. 1 in Kanagawa.

Akagi snorted. "That would be until you pass the auditions, that is in two weeks," he reminded before pushing the man into the elevator when it arrived with a "ding".

Rukawa was thirty minutes late when he arrived for practice that evening, earning himself a good smack from Ayako's legendary fold-able paper fan. He started looking around the minute practice started, trying to seek out the red-haired monkey in the small confines of the office area and was not surprised to find him missing. Sakuragi was probably avoiding him and he cursed himself for the momentary lost of self-control the previous night.

"Rukawa, if you think you're good enough to _not_ concentrate during practice, then you're terribly wrong!" Ayako admonished when she noticed his distraction. Rukawa looked away, ignoring the curious glances from his fellow dancers and Haruko's worried frown.

"Ok guys, we'll stop our practice here today!" Ayako announced to the surprise of the troupe. They briefly wondered if Rukawa have finally brought Ayako over the brink of sanity because everyone knows Ayako is a slave-driver and slave-drivers don't stop practices before the day is over.

"Before you start that merry dance in that brain of yours, nope, you're not dismissed yet." She smirked at their crestfallen faces and turned to signal Sakuragi who was hiding behind the door. "Oi Sakuragi! Stop hiding there and bring in the telly!"

Sakuragi peeked out from behind the glass window and ducked when he realized that all eyes were directed his way. "What the hell..." he cursed before rushing down the corridor towards the storeroom. Damn, Ayako for exposing him like that. Rukawa was probably laughing at his cowardice by now.

"Is there something you want to show us today?" Kogure asked as is typical of being the group's unofficial leader. He watched Ayako expectantly as he adjusted the glasses on the bridge of his nose.

"Well, I guessed practice must have been getting a little repetitive for everyone," she started, noting a few guilty nods. "To the point that you might have forgotten about our ultimate goal," she paused, letting that comment sink in. "Yes, you forgot didn't you? Well, today would be the day to give you guys a motivational push and a wake-up call." Ayako tutted, shaking her head in disapproval. "Remember the dance that shot Ryonan Dance Company to fame?" she asked as Sakuragi carried a television into the room, setting it on the table next to the hi-fi set.

"Ah! That was in 1993, am I right?" asked Mitsui in relief. He was glad to finally break that horrible silence of guilt and she really can't fault them for their one-track mind. People do get lost sometimes when overly engrossed.

"Yes, you are. Starring Sendoh Akira, Aida Hikoichi, Fukuda Kicchou, Hino Matsuri and Umeda Erika, it was hailed as one of the best works in Japan's contemporary dance scene." Ayako inserted a video tape into the television's built-in video player and turned it on. The screen flickered to life, revealing a dark empty stage with dim circle of light focused in the center. "It was choreographed by Taoka Moichi and Anzai Mitsuyoshi, founders of Ryonan & Shohoku Dance Company respectively."

"Why aren't there any Shohoku dancers?" asked one of the female dancers, Megumi.

"Well..." Ayako lifted herself to sit on the table. "Shohoku wasn't formed yet. It was only after this dance that Anzai-sensei left to start his own dance company and while I would love to go into the history of Shohoku, our main objective today is nothing historical. Please observe the video instead." She nodded towards the screen.

Halting drum beats started to thumped out from television's speaker and the group watched as little brown figures moved swiftly onto the stage into formation. It felt a little like theater with their exaggerated expressions and moves that could only be described as beautifully grotesque. Slight but obvious influences from the japanese butoh dance, though still strongly westernized with the various contemporary dance techniques.

"How old was Sendoh then?" Miyagi exclaimed in amusement, only to be shushed by Mitsui. "What? I was just trying to point out how young he looks with his hair unspiked, ok? You don't have to glare at me like I've murdered your mum!"

Rukawa rolled his eyes at Miyagi's immaturity before turning his concentration back onto the screen. Technique-wise, Rukawa was sure as hell that they weren't that far away from his own. All those late-night practices were not for nothing, he can carry out any maneuver with exact precision but as a team... it might take a while and for a moment, he felt like he was being held back by the team's inability before it was broken when Ayako got up to pause the video when the dance routine came to an end. "The technical difficulty of this dance is not one to be belittled," she started, "The moves may seem rather straight forward but the difficulty of this routine, lies in the pace of the dance and it's dependence on exaggerated facial expressions to convey the various aspects of emotions."

Rukawa tighten his fists at that, he knew his own weaknesses.

"The fluctuating pace requires the dancers to have absolute control over their muscle movements." Ayako pointed out, "Not to mention the degree of acting skills required, it will be a while before we can all catch up with that level of technical prowess. We _are _getting there but ultimately, what I'm saying is that we might be good enough to be invited to participate in this year's dance festival but to beat Ryonan in the Kanagawa Dance Competition next year, we'll have to do more than the blind practice we're currently having. This video was taped five years ago and Ryonan had five years since then to advance to a level where we might never reach."

She looked at her team solemnly. "Are you guys up to the challenge?" She taunted before raising her voice to ask, "Do you think you can beat Ryonan next year?"

Ayako smiled in satisfaction as she took in the sudden glow of passion in their eyes. She didn't need an answer, they spoke for themselves. It may have been a wake-up call for some of them to face their impending challenge, but for others it was a slap to the face from where they were resting on their laurels and Rukawa knew it was time to move on.

"Who would have thought that Sendoh was that good huh? Probably just slightly behind the great Sakuragi Hanamichi!" Sakuragi laughed. He hummed a little tune, making his way eagerly towards the dance studio when the evening practice came to an end. Rukawa should be in there by now.

"Oi! Fox face!" Sakuragi shouted as he entered the studio.

Rukawa was practicing as usual but he didn't stop at Sakuragi's interruption nor did he acknowledge his presence. Sakuragi walked in, closing the door silently behind him. Rukawa was looking rather serious today, not that he wasn't serious during practices but the atmosphere was so much thicker and Sakuragi felt he could simply suffocate from the tension alone.

But of course, being the genius he was, he wouldn't do something as stupid as to irritate a moody fox now, would he? Well, not today anyway.

"Ah! That turn, what do you call it? Pirouette something seconde?" questioned Sakuragi to no one in particular. Unfortunately for him, knowing what not to do and unconsciously doing it were two entirely separate matters.

"Oh, that movement is nice but I'm sure Sendoh can do better! and since the great Sakuragi is above that spiky head, that makes Rukawa beneath me as well! AHAHAHA!" Sakuragi rambled on, unaware about the rapidly dropping room temperature. If looks could kill by frost, Sakuragi would have been frozen dead on the spot.

"Wait, shouldn't the hips turn out a little more here, the fox must be getting tired! Ha! As expected, lousy stami-"

"Shut up!" Rukawa finally snapped, a throbbing vein visible on his right temple.

"What? Can't take a little criticism?" Sakuragi taunted as he straightened from his slouch against the wall.

Rukawa ignored the comment, choosing instead to walk towards the hi-fi to turn it off. He stood there by the table, simply looking at Sakuragi, appraising him.

"So, are we starting practice now?" asked Sakuragi as he fumbled with the seams of his shirt. Now that Rukawa's attention was focused on him, he couldn't help but feel his cheeks burn in unfounded embarrassment.

"Sendoh is better?"

Sakuragi blinked, a little surprised. Was that a question or a statement? "Well, if you were referring to dance techniques, that is for sure..."

Rukawa frowned. "Idiot."

"Temee!! Who- wait, wha-what are you-" Sakuragi sputtered when Rukawa came forward to grab him by the front of his shirt. What is with people and their obsession with his shirt!?

"Keep quiet," Rukawa ordered before jerking Sakuragi forward to seal his lips with his own.

Sakuragi's grunt of pain was swallowed in the kiss when he was forced back against the wall, his head hitting the hard surface. His discomfort ignored by Rukawa who chose instead to continue his assault, suckling and biting on Sakuragi's lower lip before slipping his tongue into the other man's mouth when the tightly clenched teeth relented. It was rough, aggressive, nothing romantic and Sakuragi was overwhelmed by a moment of light-headness as he fought for oxygen. His mind was in a whirl and heat was creeping up his neck and face as Rukawa's tongue fought to tangle with his, ravaging the inner walls of his mouth. If it wasn't for the sharp pain, from where Rukawa bit him on the tongue, Sakuragi would have allowed Rukawa to kiss him silly all night.

"St- STOP IT!" Sakuragi shouted before launching a punch across Rukawa's cheeks. He spat a few times, trying to clear the taste of Rukawa from his mouth then rubbing his lips roughly with the back of his hand. "What the fuck were you trying to do!?" He hollered, his face flushed with anger. That stupid fox kissed him!

Rukawa remained silent, wincing as he wiped the blood from his split lip.

"Temee! Don't think you can escape this by remaining silent!" Sakuragi fumed. He moved forward to grab Rukawa by his shirt, forcing the man up on the tip of his toes as he was lifted an inch from the floor. "What was that for? Were you mocking me!?" Sakuragi gritted out, his grip on the t-shirt tightened.

A warm hand covered his own and the shirt was forced out of Sakuragi's grip. "Dou ahou," Rukawa said instead, stumbling back a little from the loosen grip. "Become stronger when I get back..." he whispered before turning towards his belongings at the front of the studio.

"O-oi!" called out Sakuragi as the man grabbed his bag to leave. "Wait! Aren't we-" Rukawa left before he could finish his sentence and he turned to look around the now empty dance studio, suddenly feeling an overwhelming sense of loneliness.

Rukawa failed to show up for their nightly practice for the next few days, even though he did turn up for the official evening practices. Sakuragi had wanted to confront the man about his absence but felt awkward about doing so with the others around. Not to mention that Akagi had kept him busy with the various administrative and non-administrative tasks.

"Stupid fox!" Sakuragi silently cursed as he watched Haruko passed Rukawa his towel. "Ah! Ah! Y-you touched her hand!! You, pervert!" He cried, wringing the handle of the mop in distress. He was simply jealous of Rukawa, that's all. Jealous that the girls are swarming around him like bees. Nothing more. "Don't let them touch you! You, big Casanova!" Sakuragi seethed.

"Who's the big casanova?"

"Why, that stupid fox of course!" Sakuragi growled before a sense of doom came crashing down on him. He whipped his head around, and as expected, Akagi was standing right there behind of him. "Erm, Go-Akagi, are you stalking me?"

"IDIOT!!" scolded Akagi as his iron fist came landing hard on top of Sakuragi's head. "What do you think you're doing by lazying around here?!"

"That hurt like hell!!" Sakuragi screamed, clutching his head in agony. "I-I was just wiping the... the door!"

"Damn right, you were!!" said Akagi as he pointed at the wooden door. "You were wiping the wooden door with a mop!"

Sakuragi winced. Maybe he needed to brush up a little on his excuses. He hang in head in resignation and was about to accept his ill fate when the door to the studio swung open.

"What's the commotion about?" asked Ayako as she stepped out, a crease evident between her brows.

"Nothing, just the idiot slacking off again." Akagi explained before gesturing Sakuragi to return to the office. "Please excuse us and continue with your practice."

Ayako spared a glance at the said idiot before her face brightened in recognition. "Ah, Sakuragi Hanamichi! I've heard alot about you," she exclaimed before giving him a once over. "Well, well, so this is the great Sakuragi Hanamichi who is going to the No.1 in the Kanagawa Prefecture?"

Sakuragi scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. It was not everyday that you get recognized like a celebrity. "Yes, that would be me!" He laughed, in way that showed his lack of brain cells.

Ayako smiled dangerously. "So, no dance background?" she asked before coming forward to feel him up like a piece of meat in the market. "Nice muscles." Ayako whistled. "Would be a waste to just use it all on administrative work, wouldn't it?"

"A-Ayako!" Akagi sputtered as Sakuragi stood there speechless, face as red as his hair.

"Ne, Akagi. Why don't you let him watch us practice today?" asked Ayako. "He is now a member of our dance troupe, isn't he?"

"Ayako, he will not be considered a dancer until he passes the audition the week after. Until then, he will have to fulfill his role as my assistant." Akagi answered as politely as he can.

"Slave you mean," Sakuragi mumbled.

"What did you say?!" Akagi grabbed Sakuragi by the back of his neck, giving him a good shake.

Ayako laughed before prying Sakuragi away from their manager. "Let me borrow your little idiot for a while, ok?" asked Ayako as she dragged Sakuragi into the studio not waiting for the reply.

"Oi! Who you calling an idiot?!" Sakuragi shouted as he was dragged away.

"You, of course," answered Ayako as she closed the door behind them.

"Ah, Sakuragi!" Kogure greeted when they entered the studio. "Nice of you to join us today!"

"Hello, glasses-man! Yes, the genius is going to watch you guys practice today!" Sakuragi greeted back, waving his hand.

"Che' Who's the genius? Wait until after the auditions before you make this claim, red-furred monkey!" Miyagi snorted.

"Temee-"

"Enough! The both of you!" Ayako scolded as she brought down two consecutive whacks on the heads of both men. "Sakuragi, please take a sit at the sides, and watch, quietly." She requested, giving Sakuragi _the_ look before turning her attention back to the rest of the dancers.

Sakuragi sulked, casting envious glances at the dancers as they pranced around the room. Well, at least he can watch them from up close instead of from behind a tiny glass pane. Making himself comfortable from where he was sitting on the floor, he sneaked a glance at Rukawa, watching as the man caught Haruko mid-leap. His face was flushed from the exercise and his fringe wet against his forehead. Sakuragi felt his heart skip a beat before it clenched into an odd feeling of... well, something indescribable.

"Oh no, I'm having a heart attack." Rubbing his chest absently, Sakuragi tried to catch Rukawa's gaze, hoping to transmit some portion of his unhappiness over to the other man. Damn him for being such a jerk yesterday. "Look here! Look here!" Sakuragi chanted, deciding to tap into his non-existent telepathic abilities to will the man to look at him.

By break time, Sakuragi was practically panting from exertion. "Stupid fox! Is he avoiding the great Sakuragi Hanamichi on purpose!?" Sakuragi grumbled before hopping up onto his feet and making a beeline towards the stoic man. "Fox face!" He called before pushing away a female dancer who was practically clinging onto Rukawa. What was her name? Megumi or something?

Rukawa gave him a brief look before turning away, choosing instead to stare at the bottle in his hands.

"Oi! Look here when I'm talking to you!" Sakuragi snatched the offending bottle away, daring Rukawa to get it back.

Rukawa merely raised his brow by barely a millimeter before, taking Sakuragi by surprise, snatching the bottle right back.

"You!" Sakuragi gritted out before snatching the bottle away again, totally forgetting about his earlier intention. The water bottle ping-pong could have went on a little longer, if the appearance of a big paper fan hadn't interrupted their snatching match.

"That hurt!" Sakuragi winced in pain while Rukawa, poker-face still intact, simply rubbed the assaulted area gingerly.

"If it hurts that much then why aren't you taking instructions and behaving yourself like you should?" asked Ayako as she tucked the paper fan back to wherever it came from. "Ok, end of break!" Ayako announced, "Everybody, back to your positions!" She clapped her hands signaling the dancers to gather back at the front of the studio.

"Eh?! That fast?" asked Sakuragi, suddenly recalling that he have yet to question Rukawa about missing their nightly practices. He turned to face the man, only to find to his horror that the previously occupied space was now empty. He looked around frantically, wondering where Rukawa had disappeared to. "Temee! Stupid fox! Why are you avoiding me?!"

_To be continued…_


End file.
